Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The clock could not be any louder. 

Tick… 

…

…Tock.

Or slower.

Gojo Satoru sighed and picked some nonexistent lint off his jacket. This meeting could not have been any more draining. 

He was bored, and he'd miraculously stayed silent for what was it now? Fifteen minutes? Just to make sure, he dug his phone out to check the time— not caring that this was the third time since arriving that he did so. 

Twenty minutes?! A new record, he thought to himself then immediately glanced at his side where his senior –in age only– sat. That was something she would say to him. 

Iori Utahime, the most entertaining thing about these boring meetings. She was a semi grade one Sorcerer,  and would probably stay that way, because she was so weak to begin with. 

How she even made it semi grade one without any advanced offensive cursed techniques was a feat in itself— as well as a mystery… 

If anything, it was a testament to her dedication, and Gojo admired that about her— not that he would ever tell her. 

While yes, he considered Utahime his friend, he knew it was one sided. Utahime hated him, at least that's what everyone else believed. At the same time,  Gojo didn't really believe that,  because while he purposely annoyed her as much as he possibly could until she was red in the face and seething; every time he called her, she would answer. 

And when he told her to come to Tokyo, she would. 

So maybe, she only severely disliked him.  Hate was a strong word after all. They might not be friends, but they were allies, and she took that seriously. 

Gojo knew he could count on Utahime, and often trusted her with sensitive information; information that he didn't even tell Shoko, his former classmate, and actual friend.

He often shared details of missions with her to get her insight on things, especially if the mission was out of the country. 

Utahime was quite the nerd, and was well versed in mythologies and folk tales from other nations, especially if it was about cursed objects. 

Utahime sat there as prim and proper as ever. She wore her typical miko outfit, but Gojo noticed some distinct differences that gave him pause. Her white kosode was brighter than usual with not a wrinkle in sight, not even on the sleeves. Her bright red hakama covering her waist and legs was also suspiciously perfect looking, almost as if it were brand new. 

Did she iron her clothes? Utahime never ironed! And only ever did so if she was going to take part in a ritual at the shrine… 

Gojo pursed his lips in confusion, he didn't think there was any kind of ceremony or anything scheduled… 

He gave her another once over, noticing how she kept her slender hands folded together on her lap, and her eyes focused solely on the foreign sorcerer. 

Such undivided attention… Gojo thought in amusement.  

Every now and then the guest would look at her and nod, and she'd nod and write some notes down. 

Gojo frowned and eyed her notes, curious to see what she was even writing about with such dedication… 

He didn't see anything that caught his eye. It was just boring points about the cursed tool the guest was yapping about… 

In the sidebar of her notebook, Utahime wrote something that caught his eye, if only due to the way she tilted the page towards him ever so slightly. 

Stop staring, freak!! 

Gojo smirked, amused. That was another thing he found entertaining, she always seemed to be able to tell when he was looking at her, even from the corner of her eye. 

He wore a blindfold almost all the time to help relieve strain on his eyes. Having his eyes uncovered often gave him severe migraines. While he could easily heal that with his reversed cursed technique, a special healing technique, having that strain on top of constantly running infinity was a hassle. Infinity was an important part of his Limitless technique that acted as an impenetrable invisible shield that kept even water molecules from touching him. 

He kept it active twenty four seven, so the easiest solution was to simply cover his eyes. His blindfold was black, and made from thick material, so there was no way Utahime could see where he was looking. Yet, somehow, she always seemed to know. 

Gojo glanced at her angry little note again as she aggressively underlined it, and bit the inside of his cheek. 

See, he'd been quite well behaved during this meeting for once. He didn't even poke her! Something he did quite often to rile her up.  

Was Utahime bored too? Why else would she be name calling? Clearly, she was trying to start something. Especially when he was being good for once! 

She wanted him to interrupt the monotonous droning, didn't she? 

Well, she didn't have to ask him twice. 

Casually, Gojo leaned back in his chair and pulled his phone out again, this time letting out a dramatic sign when he saw the time. 

“Uugghh!!”  he groaned as he stretched his legs out under the desk, purposely knocking his knee into Utahime's. 

The foreign Sorcerer that the Tokyo campus was hosting finally stopped speaking in his broken Japanese to look at him from across the room. He'd been explaining some kind of newly discovered cursed tool for the entire meeting so far and Gojo had just about had it. 

“Is there a problem, Mr. Gojo?” The foreigner asked— Gojo hadn't bothered to remember his name. 

“Yeah, I'm starving,” he grumbled and scratched at his hair. His scalp felt a little sore, but that was just due to his blindfold forcing his hair to sit in an unnatural position for so long.  Utahime called it a hair bruise. She said she got them too if she kept her hair tied up for too long. 

Gojo always could just heal it with ease with rct, but he didn't. 

Living behind infinity, he hardly had any sensory feedback. If he didn't thin out the barrier so he could feel something from the outside world, he could easily forget how things felt, and he didn't really do that often. 

He had the same issue with rct. Typically, it ran automatically, it healed even muscles aches. Nothing ever even felt uncomfortable to him. It was like living on a different plane than everyone else. He felt nothing internally, or externally. 

But, sometimes… he wanted to feel something; even if it was something as simple as a hair bruise. 

The Kyoto campus principal, and resident dinosaur: Gakuganji, spoke up. “This meeting is only halfway through—”

“Halfway?!” Gojo shouted and stood up, letting his chair scrape against the floor. “I'm gonna get something to eat. Want the usual, Utahime?” He asked with a smirk, just to see the anger fill her face. 

She simply glowered at him and looked away, but he was still going to grab something for her anyway, because he knew she'd still eat it. 

“Got it,” he said and tapped his temple as if she might have telepathically told him something. He pointed at Yaga, his old teacher, and the principal of the Tokyo campus, just because, then he teleported out of the room. He'd probably get the old man something too. 

He was going to get Utahime food from her favorite izakaya, maybe something fried and savory. The teachers of Tokyo school gathered there on occasion to drink and eat various greasy foods, but Utahime was a special case, even though she lived and worked in Kyoto now, she was always invited. Things were, after all, always rather boring if she didn't show up. 

Gojo whistled to himself as he walked down the street the izakaya was at, having purposely teleported a few blocks away. He wanted to waste as much time as possible, hoping the meeting would be done by the time he got back. If not, he'd just have to be as loud as possible while he slurped the ramen he was planning on getting. 

Maybe he should reserve a table while he was at it. They hadn't met up in a while, and he knew Shoko wouldn't turn down free food if he was paying. The issue was getting Nanami to come, but there was a chance if Gojo picked up his bill he'd show his face… 

Ijichi was easy, all Gojo had to do was invite him and he'd show up like a good junior should. He was such a pushover, but it was to be expected with how fragile the man was. 

He sighed heavily and kicked a stone down the sidewalk. He didn't really like picking up the tab, but he didn't mind it so much if Utahime was there. If she agreed to come, then he was bound to have a good time. 

The meeting could have been an email. It was just another rogue group of curse users flouting around another stolen cursed tool that they thought was more powerful than it was. 

Gojo had taken the initial mission report seriously until he heard the whole spiel, then he lost interest. 

A special grade cursed tool. Some called it the lasso of truth, others called it the red string of fate, and to some, it was the golden thread of life. 

Whatever the name or color, the effect was why it was so sought after. 

It could supposedly break illusions, show the truth, and it could restrain even gods— if the legends were correct. 

Gods. 

Gojo let out a loud guffaw at such a thought. Gods weren't real. That concept started and stopped with him. He was as close to divinity as feasibly possible in this cursed world. 

He smiled to himself, as a certain shrine maiden came to mind. He knew she'd have quite a lot to say if he voiced that opinion outloud.

Utahime was everything he wasn't, she was weak, traditional, and liked by everyone, especially the higher ups of jujutsu society.

Many people thought she wanted to be one of them one day— one of the higher ups, and maybe that was true in some aspects. 

But Gojo knew Utahime was far too fiery to ever actually qualify for such a soulless position. She was passionate and way too honest, besides, she was far too weak socially to qualify. 

Utahime came from a small, traditional clan known only for its shrine maidens. Most of their sorcerers were grade three or four, rarely a grade two appeared on occasion, but for the most part they served as windows or managers if at all. Utahime was an exception, but not enough of one as she was stuck at semi grade one… 

“Should I get you a beer too, Uta? I'm sure Gakuganji would love that~!” Gojo mused aloud. 

He could see it now. 

He'd teleport into the room, or better yet just outside just so he could slam open the door, and loudly announce that he brought Utahime the beer she wanted. 

He knew that would be more than enough to tip her over with rage. She'd probably explode on him, and throw her notebook or cup at him in fury while denying that she ever asked him for alcohol during work hours. 

Which to be fair, she didn't… still.

If he did that in front of that guest sorcerer he was sure she'd block him for a month… 

She blocked him once before, and that had been the strangest two weeks of his life. Because for those two weeks, she didn't answer one call or even a text he sent. It got to a point where he teleported to the Kyoto campus where she worked to see her, and she simply looked through him as if he weren't there. 

It was… unsettling, because for all of the years he knew Utahime, never once was she able to ignore him like that. He even broke and went to question Shoko, who was the doctor at the Tokyo campus, if something was wrong with Utahime. 

Turns out, she was just petty and held grudges like you wouldn't believe… 

Gojo couldn't even remember what he did that pissed her off like that. Didn't it have something to do with one of her dumb boyfriends?

Deciding that he didn't want to go that far, Gojo settled with buying her food and a cup of black coffee, because she was one of those crazy individuals that often drank coffee throughout the day. He did too, though he needed the caffeine and he loaded his with sugar and whatnot. Hers was boring and plain. 

Besides, if he wanted to invite her to his planned get together, then he had to be careful which buttons he pushed. 

Because he just had to, he had them write princess (prinuh–cessu? He had to cross that out and write it himself)  on her takeout and her cup in English so the foreigner could read it.

Gojo teleported back outside of the meeting room, though paused before opening the door. Utahime was talking, quite softly too… 

“Ah, I've actually never been abroad, but I suppose I would like to someday,” she was saying. 

“Perhaps some day you can come with me to Italy? I own a winery there, I,  eh, could show you how we do the brewing, hm? You interested?” the guest said. 

Gojo frowned, Utahime was far too busy to be gallivanting away to some foreigner's winery of all places. Besides, she was a beer girl! 

Utahime laughed lightly, and Gojo grimaced because it was the same kind of laugh she did when she was actually enjoying a conversation… 

A laugh he rarely ever heard. 

When she spoke, each word carried a fragment of that laugh.  “Well Galanis-San, I might take you up on—”

Gojo burst back into the meeting room, nearly knocking the door off its hinges, “Oi! I'm back~!” He loudly announced and slid a cookie across the table to Yaga, “That's for you~” he said,  then set the take out and coffee in front of Utahime.  “And for my lovely Senpai~!” He sing-songed with a smirk. He only called her that when he was teasing her, because even though Utahime was his Senpai, he always preferred calling her by her name. 

Maybe that was because of how heated she always got when he used her name in the first place. So in reality, it was her fault.

Like clockwork, Utahime shot him a glare, but didn't rise to the bait. She did, however, tighten her dainty little hand into a fist so tight her knuckles rivaled Gojo's own stark white hair. 

It wasn't enough. 

“Where are your manners, Senpai~?” Gojo asked around a smirk.  “I brought you your favorite and I get no thanks?? How ruuude~”

“That's enough, Satoru,” Yaga cut in stiffly, his face so tense it looked like it was going to crack.

Gojo sighed and absently examined his nails, “M’kay, soo, are we done yappin’? I could have gone to get this cursed tool already in the time we wasted with this meeting.”

In the background, he heard Gakuganji apologizing to the guest sorcerer— Galanis, is that what Utahime said? He was blond, so maybe he should just call him Blondie—  but Gojo tuned him out because he was too busy watching Utahime's fuse burn away. 

He was honestly surprised she hadn't blown up yet. 

Unable to help himself, he leaned over and pulled on her hair.  “Ooii, are you home? You haven't even touched your food. I heard your stomach growl just now. You should be more polite, or else none of the men will want to even—”

Utahime stood up. In fact, she all but flew to her feet so fast he had to take a step back in surprise. Her face was so red that it almost matched her hakama. 

Then she popped. 

And Gojo grinned. 

 “GOJO!!—”

“Nope! Out! Both of you, now! ” Yaga quickly cut in. 

And Yaga had to ruin it… 

Gojo signed in disappointment and held his hands up in surrender, took his bags, and left the room. Faintly, he could hear Utahime apologizing profusely as he walked down the hall. 

Gojo casually shoved his hands in his pockets, a grin plastered on his face. He was too caught up in the look of fury Utahime had on her face to notice that she was right behind him until seconds before she grabbed his arm, and roughly turned him around— somehow— catching him completely off guard even though he knew she was nearby, just not how close… 

“You absolute idiot!” Utahime seethed between her teeth, shoving him against the wall, and much to his shock, he actually lost his balance and his back crashed against the wall behind him. “I have had it! I've had it! I've had enough of your games, Gojo Satoru! Can't you ever be serious? Do you have to drag me into your nonsense every single time?! Some of us take our jobs seriously! Do you have any idea how important this meeting is!?”

He could only gape at her in shock, his jaw comically slack like a character in popular anime.  

“YOU have just embarrassed me beyond words!” She snapped as she jabbed her finger into his chest. “Galanis-San came all this way at the risk of his own safety!  This cursed tool is dangerous! Even you should be worried!  If you had been paying any kind of attention then you would have realized that…” 

He stopped listening. 

He stopped listening because every few words, she jabbed him right in the chest, and the contact alone was making his brain feel fuzzy. Over and over she jabbed her skinny finger right in the soft spot between his ribs, over his heart and each time he jolted in shock. 

He'd been electrocuted once as a child, and this vaguely reminded him of that sensation, except it was vastly different. He kept telling himself to put up infinity to block her from her violent assault, but he was too stunned to manually activate it. Even more perturbing, it didn't activate on its own… 

“—And close your stupid mouth!” She yelled right when he tuned back in, and he did, with an audible click. 

Utahime harumped dramatically, and snatched the bag of food he got for her out of his hand, “I'm sharing this with Shoko, if you know what's good for you, you will leave me be for once!” She snapped, then stomped off, leaving him standing there not only completely mind blown, but shockingly, painfully hard as well… 

Oh. 

Now that was a real problem. 

Chapter Text

“I'm so done with him, Shoko! He has embarrassed me for the last time!” Utahime yelled as she angrily set the take out on her best friend's desk. 

Shoko nodded slowly, her eyes remaining on her paperwork. “And this time is different because?”

Utahime scoffed, “Because!  He got me kicked out of the meeting! In front of our guest!” She could barely believe it. “Why would Principal Yaga do this to me? He knows it's all that idiot's fault!”

“He wouldn't kick you out without reason, Senpai,” Shoko said as she reached over to take some food. 

Utahime shook her head, “I never thought I'd say this, but I think Yaga is playing favorites! He lets Gojo go on and on, and the moment I try to defend myself, I get kicked out?!”

Shoko barely glanced up at her, “Then put in a formal complaint.”

Utahime frowned and sat back in her chair across from Shoko's desk. She never thought to do that before, however, would that really stop him? More importantly, did she really want to go that far? 

Gojo was annoying, yes, but wasn't there a reason why she never thought to put in a formal complaint? 

Utahime chewed on her thumbnail in thought. At the same time, she didn't think the higher ups would even glance at such a thing, but if she went through the principles, then maybe they would help her out… 

Still, this was a lot of hassle, and Gojo was their strongest sorcerer… Utahime couldn't imagine anyone would really want to stand up to him for her sake. 

She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, “I don't know, Sho… I don't think it's worth it… He hasn't actually done anything to me…” She grumbled to herself. 

“Yeah, that's true… maybe you should take Meimei's advice…” Shoko said. 

“Which was?”

Shoko made a face and grabbed her phone. She scrolled for a few moments before holding it up to an old section of their group chat with Mei Mei.

Uta: Girls! I swear I'm going to lose my mind! This idiot called me all the way to Tokyo only to tell me I wasted my time!!

Shoko: Did he really say that? 

Uta: He might as well have! Why did I come all this way?!

Mei Mei: Uta, honey, just fuck him already and be done with it. I'm sure once you do that everything will sort itself out.

Uta: HELL NO! 

 

Shoko pulled her phone away, “And then you proceeded to rant about how you would rather die than sleep with Gojo.”

Utahime was red with embarrassment. “That still stands!”

Shoko stared at her long enough to make her feel uncomfortable. “Okay… So you want me to help you file a complaint?” 

Utahime frowned and crossed her arms. “I'll just block his dumb ass…” 

“I dunno if that's a good idea… last time he started pestering me instead, and I can't have that,” Shoko sighed. 

Utahime scoffed, “Oh, and it's okay for me? He's going to give me grays!” If I don't have them already… I swear I saw a few not long ago… 

Shoko closed her eyes and shook her head, “Well… I don't know what else to tell you, Senpai… I can tell him to leave you alone, but we both know he won't listen.”

“I know, I'll tell Yaga that if he wants me to come to Tokyo, then he has to summon me himself or else I won't take the invitation seriously,” Utahime said.

“Sure… you can try that… again,” Shoko said dryly. 

Utahime frowned at her, “Sho! You're not helping!”

“I think I am Uta…”

“You are not!”

Shoko frowned and set her chopsticks aside, “Fine, I'll tell Gojo that you don't want to be his friend anymore.”

She couldn't help but laugh again, “I am not that idiot's friend, Shoko, you know that.”

Shoko gave her another long look that made Utahime feel like she was on trial. 

“Uh… we're colleagues,” Utahime awkwardly said when Shoko didn't say anything. 

“Right… well,” Shoko mumbled and typed away on her phone. “I just told him you told me you hate his guts, and you never want to see him again.”

Utahime frowned, and her stomach dropped. She wasn't sure why either. She always tried to be careful with her words, and throwing around the word hate was something she tried to avoid. 

“I… never said that,” Utahime said, feeling awkwardly tense. 

Shoko shrugged, “Well, you might as well have, right?” 

“I just… I just… wish he'd be more respectful,” Utahime grumbled. “The meeting today was very important! I'm not supposed to talk about it… but I don't like how flippant he is about everything! One of these days he's going to get himself in real trouble! And if that happens, who can really help him?”

Shoko finished her portion of the food and took a cigarette out of her pocket. She didn't light it, but she did stick it in her mouth. It was something she did a lot lately. She was trying to quit, and could often be seen with an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. 

“So you're worried about him?” Shoko asked, her brow raised.

Utahime rolled her eyes, “No. I'm just annoyed that he can never take anything seriously! It feels like I'm the only one that even cares about—”

“Him?”

Utahime sputtered and glared at her friend, “Why do you keep putting words in my mouth?”

Shoko shrugged, “I'm not, I'm just making observations.”

Utahime held up her index finger, “Number one, you already told him I hated him and two—!”

“Don't you? Everyone else believes it. Which is it, Senpai? You say you don't hate him, but you're also not worried about him?”

“I'm neutral Shoko! Why is that so hard to understand?” Utahime asked, exasperated. 

“Neutral?” Shoko repeated dryly. 

“Yes! AKA, I don't care about him at all!” Utahime insisted hotly. “I was trying to say that I care about the mission going well!”

Shoko leaned away, her eyes narrowed, “Riight… look, I love you, Senpai, but could you please save all that yelling for Gojo?”

Utahime flushed in embarrassment and sighed, “I'm sorry, Sho… I just feel like you're being odd…”

Shoko nodded slowly, “Yeah… I'm sorry, I didn't really sleep last night, I guess that's it… I was working late.” 

“Oh dear,” Utahime whispered and covered her mouth, “You should have told me before, I'm so sorry.”

“No, you're fine, Uta. I know that Gojo can be—”

Her office door slammed open, and there was Gojo,  “Shoko!” He yelled dramatically.  “Stop lying! You're going to give me grays!”

Shoko closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. 

Utahime frowned and shot a glare at her annoying junior. “Gojo!” She hissed between her teeth as she jumped to her feet.  “Shoko has a headache! And you already have white hair!” 

He turned to her and tilted his head, “Oi! What's the problem? I thought we were supposed to be adults here!”

“Huh?? What are you talking about?!” Utahime whispered harshly. 

He shoved his stupid finger in her face, “You!”

She slapped his hand away, and felt the awkward dull impact of his infinity, “What??”

“Why are you lying??”

“I am not!”

“What? Was something wrong with the food? You know I didn't make that right??”

“Obviously! It actually tastes good!”

He smirked and crossed his arms, “So you do like it?”

“Wha!? I never said I didn't!”

“Well you sure acted like it!”

“What?! No I wasn't!”

Gojo grinned, “You should thank me!”

“I don't have to!”

“Rude!”

“No, you are rude! I can't stand you!” Utahime snapped and stopped her foot. 

“Then sit down, princess!” 

She gasped and threw her chopsticks at him, and they uselessly froze, stuck in his stupid infinity barrier.  “Do not call me that, moron!”

“Then stop acting like one!”

She gasped again and blindly reached for something else to throw at him.  Shoko's stapler flew towards him, and it too froze in infinity and hit the ground with a loud clang. 

“I am not!” She growled. 

“You are too!”

The office opened again, and Utahime looked up to see Kusakabe Atsuya, another teacher at Tokyo, and a talented grade one Sorcerer standing there looking severely unamused.

“Is everything uh… okay?” He asked warily. 

“Yes,” “No,” Utahime said at the same time as Gojo.  

Gojo frowned and waved him away, “I've got it handled, you can go now.”

“I heard you all the way down the hall… again…” Kusakabe sighed. 

Gojo smirked, “Don't be jealous, Atsuuya~”

Utahime glared at Gojo, furious. “What are you on about?”

“He just told us he was eavesdropping on us! Pervert,” Gojo said with a click of his tongue. 

Heat rushed to Utahime's ears, “Ugh, You're the pervert! He did not say that!” 

Gojo smirked and sauntered over to her, “That's exactly what I heard, Uta~hi~me~ what did you hear?” He asked as he got in her face. 

“He was just talking about your big stupid mouth!” She said through her teeth. 

Said big stupid mouth grinned, flashing perfect white teeth, “I thought we agreed not to talk about what my mouth can do in public~” 

Utahime scowled, and turned to Shoko, “I'll text you,” she grumbled and stormed out of the ward. 

Much to her dismay, Gojo followed her.

“Gojo, go away. I'm not in the mood,” she snapped. 

He surprisingly didn't say anything, so she kept walking, not wanting to ask him and risk accidentally encouraging him to say something else infuriating.

Unfortunately she also couldn't ignore him because his very presence took up so much space. 

She swore she could feel an invisible something pushing against her, looming over her. 

It was grating on her nerves. 

Still, she managed to keep her focus on the hall in front of her. She retraced a familiar path that she once took all the time in her youth when she was a student here herself. 

She stopped right in front of a vending machine, but right before she pressed the button for the tea she wanted, a pale hand reached over her shoulder and pressed it for her. 

She scowled and spun around right as the dull clunk of the bottle hit the bottom of the machine. “Gojo!” She growled angrily. 

His expression remained blank, “What?” 

“I was going to pick something else!” She seethed.

He smirked, “No you weren't.”

“Yes, I was!” she snapped, her anger boiling up once again. 

“You really weren't, I bet you a month of free beer that you were going to pick this exact one,” he said and held up the bottle. 

She scowled and snatched the bottle out of his hand,  refusing to take the bait no matter how enticing it sounded. “Whatever, what do you want, Gojo?” 

He shrugged and pressed his hand against the vending machine, leaning over her because she refused to step back.  “You…uh, you're doing alright?” He quietly asked. 

It took a few beats for Utahime to process that he was asking about her well being. Something she swore he has never done before.  

It threw her off guard so much that she could only gape at him in shock. 

His typical annoying smile faded and he cleared his throat, “Shoko made it sound like… you… were pretty upset…”

Utahime crossed her arms, “Are you actually trying to apologize?” She asked in disbelief.

He laughed, “No—”

Utahime walked away. 

She didn't have to waste her time entertaining an asshole like Gojo. If he didn't think he needed to apologize, then she didn't need to associate with him. 

“Oi, Utahime! Why are you stormin’ off??” He asked as he followed her. 

Just ignore him,  Utahime. He's clearly a moron.

“Oi!”

She kept walking, intending to go to Principal Yaga's office so she could apologize again for her outburst. 

“Uh, look, don't be mad, it's not cute—”

She scoffed, and turned to him,  unable to hold it back anymore, “Are you being for real, Gojo? Do you think I care what you think?”

He frowned and held his hands up, “I know you don't… I just wanted you to know that I, uh meant no harm…”

Utahime was taken aback. So he is trying to apologize… has he never actually simply said: I'm sorry before?

“And since you're here, you should join everyone for food and drinks… It's been a long time since we've all gotten together,” he said, sounding far too reasonable to trust. 

“Uh… what are you getting at? Is this some kind of prank?” Utahime asked warily. 

“Wha? Prank? Why would I prank you?” He asked incredulously. 

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “Don't get me started, Gojo. I could give you a dissertation about it.”

He smirked, and Utahime shoved her finger in his face. 

“Shut. It!” she growled. 

“I didn't say anything!” 

“I know you were going to, Gojo!”

He huffed and scratched the back of his head, “I'm trying to be serious here.”

“You coulda fooled me,” she quickly shot back. 

Much to her surprise, he didn't argue further, he just pursed his lips and stepped away from her. That made her feel awkward, like she may have missed an important social cue. 

“Uh… you know… if you want people to take you seriously — I mean, it helps if you actually look at them, you know?” Utahime awkwardly said, unsure still if this was just another trick to mess with her.

“I am looking at you, Utahime,” he said, sounding impossibly confused when he should know exactly what she was talking about. 

Was he serious? She sighed and quickly looked him over, and since he wasn't smiling, she decided to take him seriously, and cautiously continued, “Uh, well… how am I supposed to know that? I can't see half of your face, you know…”

He chuckled, and she immediately started to regret taking him seriously, “No one else has had a problem.”

Utahime sighed heavily and rubbed her temple to try and soothe the oncoming headache he was giving her. “Well I'm not everyone else, Gojo. Eye contact is important to me. I think it's important to not only give people my undivided attention, but to receive it as well.”

He just silently stood there for a few beats, and right before Utahime told him to forget it, he reached up and pulled the corner of his blindfold up, revealing one, very bright, blue eye framed by unfairly long, snow white lashes. 

Utahime blushed lightly, she had forgotten how eerily beautiful his eyes were… 

Saying that they were blue felt like an understatement. It was almost like looking at a brand new color with no name, and blue was the closest thing humans had to describe it, or a thousand different shades of blue all at once.

“Look me in the eye then and tell me you aren't secretly happy I got you out of that meeting,” Gojo said. 

She faltered, not expecting him to say that. Unfortunately, her hesitancy seemed to make him think he was right because he smirked, and his eye seemed to sparkle in glee.

“I knew it~ Of course. My intuition is so good I might as well be a mind reader,” he happily declared. “Say it, Utahime~ be honest for once.”

She scoffed and crossed her arms,  he was really grating on her nerves, but she couldn't lie to herself while looking him in the eye like this. Yeah, it was only one, but she'd forgotten how expressive his eyes were. 

She didn't see any of the maliciousness she had gradually begun to assume he had when he spoke to her. 

It was a little mind blowing to have this realization so suddenly. Had the maliciousness she was beginning to think he had really just been mischief all along… like it used to be?

And, for the record… he was right. As much as she hated to admit it. “I… was happy to be able to stretch my legs,” Utahime grumbled, not quite admitting to what he wanted, but she was too prideful to admit anything more. 

Thankfully, it seemed enough to placate him. “So, we can put this behind us now, right? No need to hold a grudge, yeah?”

Utahime narrowed her eyes in annoyance. She kind of still wanted to yell at him some more, because for all she knew, she was going to get written up for what happened today… 

She didn't like relying on him because she liked to handle things herself, but this was his fault in the first place. “Just make sure I don't get written up for your stunt earlier, okay?” She said in exasperation. “That's all I need.”

Gojo pushed his blindfold up the rest of the way, pushing his hair out of his face like a headband, and flashing her with the full force of his bright,  glowing eyes. Despite how ridiculous he looked with his hair brushed back the way it was, his expression was uncharacteristically serious. 

“They won't, Yaga adores you, and the old fossil wouldn't dare…” he trailed off at the end, as if he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. Utahime still saw it in his eyes. If Gakuganji tried to punish her, Gojo would probably threaten him…  “He won't,” he insisted instead, all but confirming her suspicions.

Utahime nodded, slowly,  deciding not to dig into it. The less she knew, the better. “Fine… then I guess—”

“You still have to thank me for getting you lunch~” he cut in with a grin. 

Utahime frowned, intending to snap at him, but when she looked him in the eyes, she lost her voice. She felt like he was seeing through her and looking right at her at the same time. 

Considering how powerful the six eyes were, he probably was. 

The six eyes was a powerful trait that lived only in the Gojo clan's bloodline, known only to be marked by striking blue eyes. The last time it showed up was around six hundred years ago.  As a result, no one knew the exact way such a power functioned. There was basic knowledge passed down within the clan, but that was all. Not even jujutsu society truly knew anything about it as the Gojo clan kept what they did know very closely guarded. 

Standing here before him while he looked at her so intensely made her feel tiny and awkward, but at the same time, as much as she hated to even think about it, she also felt a little proud.

Gojo didn't bend to anyone. He was a solid force that was probably more deadly than a tsunami — no he was definitely more deadly than a tsunami. Yet, Utahime only had to ask him once to essentially reveal his secret weapon to her, and he did. Without complaint. 

Was it simply because she was so weak in comparison to him that he didn't feel threatened? Could he see the tanto knife she hid under her hakama? 

Without thinking,  Utahime slowly reached towards his face. He made to move back, but she stopped him with nothing but her word. 

“Hold still,” she mumbled softly, and gently rubbed her thumb under his eye, carefully sweeping away a stray eyelash. 

He blinked slowly, and his long lashes just barely brushed against her thumb. 

Heat filled her cheeks, and she quickly retracted her hand as it dawned on her what she just did. “U-Uh… you had— it was going to get in your eye…” she awkwardly explained as she held her thumb up so he could see that she wasn't lying. 

He didn't say anything right away, and Utahime hesitantly looked him in the eyes again, only to feel the heat in her cheeks increase. He had the faintest tinge of pink on his own face, except on him it looked like a delicate air brush. 

“Thanks…” he murmured. 

She smirked, “There's your thanks.”

His eyes widened for a few beats before a slow, wide smile spread on his face like a cheshire cat. Distantly, she realized that had he been wearing his blindfold, she would have just assumed he was about to say something snide. Now that she could see the amusement in his eyes, she was able to smile as well. 

He bit his lip, and Utahime was unusually drawn to the slight color change of his lip from the pressure. “So… you'll come out tonight?” He quietly asked, a look of hope on his face. 

Utahime stared at him in surprise. She couldn't remember the last time he looked at her like that. Maybe when he was still in school when he used to bug her to buy him candy… 

The warmth in her cheeks refreshed, and she looked away, “Fine… but I'm not paying.”

He laughed lightly, “Not to worry, Uta~ I'll take care of you,” he said and patted her on the head. 

Utahime flushed, outraged, and angrily slapped his hand away, “Do not touch me!” She all but shrieked.

He cackled and poked her cheek, “I didn't, infinity did~” 

She swatted at him again, this time, her hand connected against the back of his so well that the resulting smack sound was crisp and loud. She gasped and looked up at him with widened eyes. 

Did I… smack his actual hand?? “Oh… um…”

“Wow…” he mumbled as he looked down at his hand where a bright red welt was rising on his skin. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and his lips were parted in shock. 

Utahime began to fret. He looked so shocked that she was worried she actually hurt him.  “I'm sorry!” She quickly said. “I didn't think I'd, uh, didn't think that would happen!”

He blinked owlishly at his hand for a few, tense beats before he quickly pulled his blindfold back in place, “Uh… anyway…” he mumbled and shoved his hands in his pockets.  “Tonight at seven?”

She nodded, “Okay…” 

He grinned and stepped backwards into nothingness, and disappeared, as if stepping into an invisible room. 

A weight seemed to lift off her, and Utahime let out a long sigh as she rolled her shoulders.  

Her heart was racing, and she was breathing as if she'd just gone for a light jog… 

It was just because he always made her blood pressure go up.  

That was all. 

Chapter Text

“Maybe that's why she's always wearing red, cause she's always on her period,” Gojo said with a smirk, finding himself to be quite clever. 

“Uh, Gojo-San, that's not uh… possible,” Ijichi said from the driver's seat. 

Gojo scoffed and rolled his eyes, even though Ijichi couldn't see. “Well then Ijichi, why don't you tell me what's wrong with Utahime? Why does she have to be such a stick in the mud?” He demanded. He leaned back and propped his feet up in the open divider blocking off the front of the car from where he sat in the back. 

“Iori-Senpai is a gracious person, Gojo-San, she cares about everyone, especially her friends,” Ijichi said. 

Gojo rolled his eyes again, “Of course you'd say that. She all but babies you.”

“I'm not the one she babies…” Ijichi said under his breath, as if Gojo didn't hear every word. 

“Excuse me?”Gojo snapped and sat up, shoving his way through the partition. 

“Ah! S-Sir! Please practice safe passenger habits!” Ijichi yelped. 

“I heard that, what are you talking about? Does Utahime have another boyfriend??” Gojo demanded. 

“W-Wha? Why would I know?” He stammered out. 

“You clearly know something.”

“Gojo-san, please sit down!”

“Oi, you raisin’ your voice at me,  Kiyotaka?”

Ijichi flinched and shook his head, “No!”

Gojo was about to point out that he just did it again, but his phone started ringing and he sighed and dug it out of his pocket. He instinctively went to silence it, but when he saw the name on the screen he quickly swiped accept. 

“Utahime!” He cheerily greeted her. 

She sighed into the receiver, and even over the phone, Gojo knew she was annoyed. “Gojo—”

“Sir please sit down!” Ijichi loudly– rudely, what was with him?– interrupted. 

Utahime gasped, “What are you doing, Gojo? Are you harassing poor Ijichi again?!”

He scoffed, “I am not!”

“Then sit your dumb ass down! Why does he need to tell you that??”

Gojo rolled his eyes again, and sat back in his seat. “You're such a grouch, Utahime.”

“I am not! Would it kill you to be more respectful?!” She snapped angrily. 

Gojo smirked and turned to look out the window, “Ya know, you say that so often that I'm starting to think you might be right! I shouldn't risk it, hm? Don't want the strongest to get hurt now, do we?”

“Tch, if you keep stressing Ijichi out then I'm going to just go home!” Utahime threatened. 

“I wasn't!”

“I don't believe you! You always stress the poor man out!”

Gojo waved his hand absently in the air as if trying to banish the accusation away. Ijichi was just a weak man that unfortunately didn't have the same fire that Utahime had. 

“Whatever, I'd rather talk about why you called me. Miss me already~?” Gojo asked, smirking. 

She laughed, her typical short, dry, and loud laugh that she always did around him. “Absolutely not! I just called because the regular staff isn't here today, and they're giving me a hard time with the reservation you made.”

“Ooh, huh, they must have new people there,” Gojo said. 

She growled into the receiver, “I just said that!”

He grinned and bit his knuckle, “Settle down there, Senpai~ You might scare the newbies.”

“Ugh, can you just call the izakaya and tell them to let us in!?”

“Yeah, yeah, we'll be there in a few minutes anyway, so just wait for me,” Gojo flippantly said. 

“What? Are you serious? A few minutes could be hours for you!” Utahime squawked.

“Don't wooory, I wouldn't keep my favorite Senpai waiting~” he said with a smirk. 

“Ugh! Do you have to make it sound like you don't mean it every time?!”

“Why? Do you wanna be my favorite, Uta~hi~me~?”

“No!”

“Aw, so rude~”

“No! That is you! We went over this, Gojo!”

“Ah, then why did you call me?”

“Are you serious?!”

“Absolutely!”

“Because I'm waiting for you—”

He gasped dramatically, “Why didn't you say so earlier!? I'll be there asap!” He said and hung up the phone right as she was starting to freak out. 

He smirked to himself, fully entertained with just the image of Utahime losing her mind in front of the new employees at the izakaya. 

“Uh… Gojo-San… you could stand to be, um… a little nicer to Utahime-Senpai…” Ijichi mumbled. 

Gojo actually startled as he had forgotten where the hell he was, but he kept it to himself. “Oi! Weren't you supposed to tell me who Utahime's boyfriend is?” He shot back instead.

Ijichi frowned and nervously squeezed the steering wheel,  “I don't know anything… I wouldn't ask her something like that either…”

Gojo sighed and started to tap his fingers against the car door. “Whatever, just get us there already,” he grumbled.

Ijichi sighed, but thankfully didn't say anything more. 

Ten minutes later, Ijichi was pulling up near the Izakaya, and Gojo jumped out of the car while it was still in motion, closing the door while Ijichi was mid-protest. 

The crowd was picking up as it was peak business hours, but Gojo moved through the crowd with ease. Infinity paved the way like a hand in the sea. 

As soon as he made it inside the building, he saw her: Utahime. 

The annoyed look that he was expecting to be on her face was nowhere in sight. Instead, she had a smile. A light blush decorated her cheeks as she leaned into the space of the man sitting beside her— the foreign sorcerer.

He frowned. What's his face was not invited. 

The worst part? Gojo had already been standing here for what? Ten seconds? And no one even flinched? 

Now he was glad he kept his blindfold on… 

Slowly, Gojo loosened his hold on his cursed energy. Just a little bit. Enough for the average window to sense. 

Utahime immediately looked up, “Gojo! There you are,” she said, her smile vanishing like smoke.

He smirked, “The one and only~”

The foreigner– Blondie, stood up,  “Oh, Mr. Gojo, I hope you, uh, don't mind I join you.”

Gojo ignored him, “Are the others here, Utahime?”

“Yeah, Shoko and I arrived with Nanami, and they're sitting with Kusakabe at the bar since someone didn't want to call in for us,” Utahime said, her brow deeply furrowed. 

Kusakabe?  No one invited him, but Gojo didn't care as much as he did about Blondie… 

Gojo shrugged, “I'm here now, so let's go.”

“Wait, where's Ijichi?” Utahime asked as she stood. 

“He is just slow, he's parking, c'mon,” Gojo said and shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from grabbing her arm. 

“It alright, I wait with her,” Blondie rudely cut in, and put his hand on Utahime's shoulder. 

Gojo frowned and stared at his hand, and the way his thumb subtly rubbed the back of her shoulder… 

Even the man's cursed energy was wrapping around her… 

… Hm… 

“Oh, remind me again what you do? You're a window right?” Gojo asked as he stepped into his personal space. Blondie was tall, but his eyebrows still only reached Gojo's nose. 

Blondie laughed lightly, “No, no, no I am grade one sorcerer of the Italy, Rome branch.”

“Huh, I'd have never known,” Gojo said behind a smile. 

Blondie chuckled, “Ah, you have trouble sensing cursed energy?”

“Ooh yeah! It's my worst skill,” Gojo said, a bit too enthusiastically. He felt something knock against his infinity, but he didn't acknowledge it.

“Ah, well I don't mind teaching you, hm? Everyone has their weaknesses, there is no shame,” Blondie said with a sharp smirk.

Ooh, he was pissed. 

That same strange something knocked against his infinity. This time, Gojo turned towards the source. 

Utahime was standing there with her arms crossed and a furious expression on her face. She was still in her miko outfit though. Good. Gojo has seen her wardrobe.

“Gojo, can I have a word with you?” She asked (demanded, because Utahime didn't ask) through her teeth. 

Gojo wanted to stay there, but he allowed Utahime to drag him away by the arm to the small hall by the bathrooms. 

“Okay, first of all, what are you doing?!” She angrily seethed, her whisper so harsh her voice nearly sounded like a hiss.

“What are you talking about?” He unintentionally snapped, annoyed. 

She huffed and randomly gestured around, “Your cursed energy! It's suffocating everyone!”

He pursed his lips. His cursed energy was in fact filling up the whole building. The tension in the air was heavy, and he could sense the civilians were beginning to grow restless. Oops. Apparently he let out too much. 

“Oh…” he mumbled, and shut it off so quickly that Utahime shuddered and let out a small gasp. 

“D-Don't do that either!” She whispered harshly.  “That can cause panic in civilians!”

Gojo sighed and angled his head up at the ceiling. He could still technically see her, though her visage was far blurier than it would be if he was looking right at her.  

“And second of all! What is your problem?” She asked angrily.

“What do you mean? You're the one that asked me to come back here,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, that's because I'm actually mature and I don't want to embarrass you in front of people, unlike you,” she said. 

Her words gave him pause. She didn't want to embarrass him in front of people? Didn't she know he didn't give a shit what people thought about him? He has said it so many times already. Why would she—?

“And can you please at least pretend to listen to me?!” Utahime whispered so harshly that he imagined it made her throat hurt. 

He normally never did this, especially this often, but for some reason, when he looked back down at her, he reached up and pulled his blindfold down. It fell around his neck the way it typically did when he needed the full strength of his eyes to fight.  

Utahime's expression softened immediately, and even her cursed energy settled into a smooth pulse. It was odd. One second she was a raging inferno, and the next, she was as quiet as a mouse… 

She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair, touseling her bangs. “Look… I know we're not close—”

“Mhm…”

“—But if something is… wrong. I… well I might not be able to do much for someone like you, but I am your Senpai, and I think my advice should still be worth something to you…” Utahime quietly murmured. 

He was a little stunned by such a dramatic tone shift. Utahime was being nice. To him.  Why?  

“Oh, come on, Gojo… don't look at me like that. I'm not joking,” Utahime sighed, her posture deflating, softening. 

Strange. “Um… Why did you want to talk back here again?” He asked after a few beats of silence. 

Utahime's eyes widened, and she crossed her arms again, but when she looked him over, she uncrossed them and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Because… you were acting odd. Is there something wrong with Galanis-San?”

Gojo huffed and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, he's annoying the hell out of me.”

“He's annoying you?”

“That's what I said, Utahime, well done. I'm glad your ears work. ”

She scoffed and put her hands on her hips, “Don't sass me, Gojo Satoru! I'm trying to be nice to you!”

He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious. Why was she trying to be nice? Where did it even come from? 

Utahime sighed again and rubbed her temples,  “Come on, Gojo, what's wrong? Is there something about Galanis-San that I should know about?”

“Why do you keep asking me about that loser?” He grumbled. 

“Because, I have to work with him for—”

“What?” He cut in stiffly. “Why you?”

Her jaw dropped, and her face twitched as if it didn't know what kind of face to make. She looked him over multiple times, and that only made him feel awkward. Was she really that shocked by his question? 

“Because,” she started again,  uncharacteristically calm. “Gakuganji thought I'd be a good fit to not only show him around, but to also help with fleshing out the mission details. There are legends in Japan about a similar cursed tool, and my family has old records about it, and we need to make sure it isn't the same one,” Utahime explained. “So if you think something is wrong with him, then I would like to know before I take him up to my parents house.”

Gojo tensed, not liking that last bit of information at all. “What?? You're bringing that idiot to your family home? You can't do that!”

She pursed her lips, but didn't snap like he expected her too. “Then tell me why I shouldn't?”

Gojo exhaled heavily and bit the inside of his cheek. In truth, he couldn't sense anything wrong with the blond asshole. He just didn't like the idea of him being alone with Utahime… “I dunno, Utahime… I don't like him. He's a damn bastard, and he's lucky I didn't fold him into a pretzel just then!”

She sighed and shook her head, “Gojo, you can't be rude to him just because you don't like him.”

“Did you not think he was being rude?” He asked, annoyed. 

“He has been nothing but nice to me, Gojo.”

“That's the problem.”

She scoffed, “What? You want him to be rude to me??”

He grimaced, and rolled his eyes, “That is not what I'm saying. Do you really think I want some guy to be rude to you?”

She looked taken aback yet again and she sighed again, this time softer, more tired. “I really don't know. I used to think you enjoyed being rude to me yourself, but—”

“What? When have I been rude to you??” Gojo demanded, offended. 

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she held her hands up, “You know what? How about we just forget this whole conversation. You're confusing the hell out of me.”

“Me? You're the one acting weird, Utahime,” he grumbled under his breath. 

“No, no, that would be you, you are the one acting weird,” she insisted. 

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, ookay.”

“Ugh! You're doing it again!”

“Doing what?”

“Sassing me!”

He sniffed, indignant, and pushed off the wall, “Whatever, let's just get our dang booth. I'm starving.”

“No, no, I'm not done with you yet,” Utahime said and pushed him back against the wall. Lightly. He still moved, surprised. Her hand had only touched his chest for a beat, but he swore he felt a subtle warmth, even through infinity… 

“What else do you want?” He asked, with none of the bite that he imagined. 

“Be nice, okay? I don't know what's going on with you, but please don't embarrass me in front of our guest,” she quietly pleaded. 

“Why is he even here though? Don't tell me you invited him… and why is Kusakabe here?” 

She sighed and shook her head, “Nanami invited Kusakabe.  And No. I didn't invite Galanis… he sort of invited himself … I was talking about our meet up with Ijichi when Yaga walked by with Galanis and that's when he asked to join.  Yaga answered for us… said that it was a great idea…”

Gojo scowled at a spot over her head, annoyed. Of course Yaga had to ruin this too. 

He stepped forward, “What?  Well I'll just throw his ass back to Rome then!”

She shoved him back again, with just a bit more force. “No Gojo. Don't hurt him.”

His expression darkened. Another reason not to like that man. “That man is mocking me, Utahime, me, right to my face!” He nearly growled. “I can reduce him to half a brain cell in a second, and he has the gall to act like he doesn't know?” 

She sighed wearily, “So this is about your ego…” 

He scoffed, “This isn't about ego Utahime, he is testing me. There isn't a sorcerer alive that doesn't know me or what I'm capable of. 

“I've worked with and saved the ass of every branch of jujutsu across the globe because who they had on staff was never strong enough, that he chooses to play stupid is a new kind of infuriating.”

“You're right,” Utahime quietly said as she slowly shook her head. “You're right, maybe he's jealous… I don't know.”

He gaped at her in surprise. Utahime never gave in that easily.  Especially when admitting he was right. It was always a fight. He had to steal victory from her claws like a thief sneaking off with a piece of a dragon's hoard.

Utahime took a deep breath and actually smiled. It was a little forced, but not in a bad way. It was as if her mouth didn't know the shape it was trying to make. “Just let it go for now. I want tonight to go smoothly. It really has been a while since I got to hang out with everyone, and I want to have a good time.”

Gojo nodded, stiffly. “Fine, but just promise me you won't be alone with him… They're sending me out to retrieve the damn string tomorrow, and I won't be around if something goes wrong.” 

A look of shock flitted across her face, “What? Tomorrow? I thought they were waiting for my report to send you. Why would they send you before my report?”

He grinned, “Aw, you worried about me?” 

She frowned. Rolled her eyes. Just like he expected her to, but what he didn't consider, was for her to sigh, look him in the eyes and nod, once. “Yes…”

He had no words. “Huh?” 

She nodded again, this time with more conviction. “Yes, I can't exactly be a good senpai if I don't worry about all my kouhai, can I? No matter how big their heads are, or if they're a special grade.”

He suddenly felt like he was a teenager again. Like they were in school, and Utahime was scolding him for one reason or another. She'd always been sweet. Even when annoyed. 

No matter how much they bickered, back then, afterwards, she'd always approach him with a cup of warm tea. They'd sit in silence, or she'd simply bid him goodnight, but at the end of the day, he could still confidently call her his friend.

It changed after he graduated. 

But he kinda missed that. 

His face felt warm. “Well… unless you want me to defy orders, I'll be overseas in the morning,” he quietly said. 

She frowned and shook her head, “I don't like it when you test the higher ups… I'll text you my notes with some added information because I know you didn't pay attention… I think it'll be enough,” she sighed. 

“Okay…”

She took a deep breath and stepped away. “Okay, then let's get back to the others.”

He grabbed her hand without thinking, and nearly let go just as quickly when he felt actual contact with her skin. He hadn't intended to drop infinity again. It just happened. So caught up was he in the feel of her cool skin that he forgot why he reached out in the first place. 

He expected her to snatch her hand away. She didn't. She just took a half step closer to him, her large eyes searching his face. 

“What is it?” She asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft. At least towards him.  It psyched him out. What he was going to say vanished from his mind. 

His mouth moved on its own. “You're cold.”

She blinked at him. Confusion clear on her face. Slowly, amusement filtered in. “Yes… I'm always cold. Public spaces are often set at temperatures that just don't work well with me.”

“Why?”

She laughed lightly. It was that laugh. The soft, sweet one that he swore she never did around him. Something in his chest squeezed. “Because, Gojo. Women typically have colder extremities. It's just how it is,” her tone was playful. And even though she rolled her eyes, her smile was warm. 

“Oh…” he knew that. It was just one of those things that fade to the back of one's mind because it doesn't affect you.  For him at least, it wasn't necessarily because he was a man. Infinity protected him from even unpleasant temperatures. 

Utahime patted his hand and gently pulled out of his grip. “C'mon, I'm hungry, and once I get a bit of beer in me the cold will fade,” she said and retreated back to the izakaya main area. 

Gojo felt weirdly quelled. Even as he pulled his blindfold back in place and followed Utahime, he remained quiet. His focus was stuck on how his fingers still carried a ghost of the chill he felt from her hand. A simple touch that stuck with him for reasons that he did not understand.

Has it really been that long since he directly touched someone? Was it normal to still feel the thin bones of her hand like an imprint in the snow? 

Twice in just one day something abnormal happened with Utahime.  Or was it actually him? 

Concerned, Gojo quickly went over his faculties, but everything remained the same. As far as he knew, he was perfectly healthy. There wasn't even a bruise or blemish on his skin thanks to rct. He was in peak condition. 

Yet, for some reason, he felt… wrong. 

Popping a boner in the middle of the day wasn't entirely out of the norm. It happened to the best of men. 

But something like that hadn't really happened to him since he was a teenager. And it never happened like it had earlier today… 

Contrary to what most believed about him, he didn't have much of a social life. He was constantly working, either teaching, or on missions. Which meant, he rarely if ever actually went out to meet women. 

Even though he kind of wanted to go out for once, he simultaneously didn't. Wasting time on missions, especially when they weren't serious, was something he liked to do if only to get some time to relax, and get on the higher ups' nerves. 

But he wasn't sure if he wanted to be away long if Blondie was going to be breathing down Utahime's neck… 

Gojo was so distracted that he didn't even realize he'd quietly shuffled into his usual seat at the end of the booth. Next to him sat Kusakabe, Nanami, and Ijichi against the wall. Across from him was Shoko, followed by the uninvited Blondie, and last Utahime. 

Gojo didn't like that he nabbed the spot right next to her, but if he said anything, it would only make things awkward. So he said nothing. That didn't mean he had to do nothing. 

He didn't need to make a scene. Contrary to popular belief, he was quite aware of himself and the way of things. He just didn't particularly care. So he felt no qualms over blatantly staring at their guest throughout the night. Blondie may not be able to see his eyes on him, but Gojo knew he could feel it. 

He could sense it too. The subtle way his cursed energy tremored. Much like a pathetic curse did if he was simply in the vicinity. 

He felt a dull knock against his infinity, and only partially acknowledged it with a grunt. 

“What's up with you?” Shoko asked. “You've been unusually quiet.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Kusakabe asked. “We shouldn't encourage him.”

 “Are you feeling unwell, Mr. Gojo? You haven't had a drink yet,” Blondie said, his smile sly. 

Gojo grinned and propped his elbow up on the table, chin in hand. “Ah, your memory seems to be off Blondie, I actually have to work tomorrow. You know, once again,  retrieving something that you and your peers have failed to acquire.”

“We're sooo lucky to have Gojo,” Utahime cut in. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes just a tad watery. Both tell tale signs that she was at least tipsy. “Did you know he's our strongest sorcerer?” She asked with a smile. “I bet, if we didn't have him, jujutsu society would not be thriving as much as it is now,” she said before downing the rest of her drink. “Isn't that right, Shoko?”

Shoko nodded slowly, a small smirk on her lips. “Mhm, You should tell Galanis-San what you think Gojo's best quality is.”

At his side, Kusakabe scoffed, but Gojo paid him no mind. He was too stunned over the fact that Utahime just admitted how important he was in front of everyone. Something she never did, let alone that she didn't recoil at such a request. Usually, she would have slammed her hand on the table and loudly declared that he had no good qualities of note. Now? She was tapping her chin in thought!

Maybe something was wrong with her after all. 

“Mh, I think we can all agree that Gojo's best quality is his strength,” Utahime said and reached over to steal Ijichi's drink.

A small wave of disappointment settled in the pit of Gojo's stomach. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he was hoping for a different kind of answer… Even so. He couldn't disagree with her. But he'd kind of been hoping to hear something different… 

Shoko nodded “Yes yes, but what is your favorite, Senpai?”

“Ooh, my favorite?” She sighed, and if Gojo didn't know any better, he would have said it sounded wistful.  “He's reliable,” she finally said. “No matter what happens, if we need something, he'll be there. Especially with how busy he always is. Sometimes, he doesn't even sleep. He works nearly every day of the year, at all hours of the day or night. Even though he has every right to a day off, or a vacation, he rarely takes either.  I think that's very admirable,” she finished and smiled. Directly at him. 

Utahime just complimented me.

On any normal evening, he might have teased her about it, but for some reason his mind could only focus on her words. She admired something about him.

“That's rich,” Kusakabe muttered. “If anything he's always giving us more work to do.”

Gojo glared at him, but before he could even say anything, Utahime cut in. 

“At least he's never run away from a mission before!” She snapped angrily. 

Kusakabe balked, “Oi, it was a strategic retreat.”

Gojo jumped at the opportunity, “If I recall correctly, didn't that retreat entail calling me to come in and save you?”

“Wha—?”

“It did!” Utahime chirped. “If I recall correctly that happened at least three times.”

Gojo nodded, “I believe it was four though.”

Kusakabe sputtered, “Tch, well at least I haven't needed him to save my l—”

Gojo reached over to steal some food off of Ijichi's plate and leaned in to whisper in Kusakabe's ear: “If you mention what I think you are going to I'm going to literally delete your right arm.” 

He had a strong feeling the end of that sentence was going to be: life. 

It was no secret amongst their friend group that Utahime nearly died on a mission a few years back. A mission that left a large scar across her face. A mission that was meant to see if she qualified to be a full fledged grade one sorcerer. 

Gojo had gotten there just in time to save her life. 

If he had been a second slower, then she would have died. 

This was just one reason why he didn't like inviting Kusakabe to join them. He was as much an ass as he was a coward. 

Kusakabe shut his dumb mouth. “Tch, since when did you two stop clawing at each other's throats?”

Gojo ignored him, and leaned back in his seat, content to simply watch and enjoy everyone's company, despite the unwanted thorn that he purposely kept staring at. 

He could tell Blondie was growing more uncomfortable, until finally he broke. 

“So, Mr. Gojo. How do you see with that thing on?” He asked, his tone a bit strained. “Is it a special cursed tool?”

“Nope~ I'm just magic~” he said with a grin. “Right, Utahime?”

She laughed, and nodded along. “Yeah! He's magic~!” She said and made some silly woo sounds as she wriggled her fingers in Blondie's face.

Gojo couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Even though Utahime wasn't nearly as drunk as she usually got during their meet ups, she was still surprisingly entertaining.  

He kind of liked this more muted version of Utahime. She spoke to him as if they shared a secret that no one else knew, and he was starting to think he liked it just as much as seeing her blow a gasket. 

Blondie pursed his lips but otherwise dropped it. Instead, he cleared his throat and blatantly grabbed Utahime's hand. “Miss Utahime—”

“That's Iori, actually,” Gojo cut in, his irritation peaked. 

“Oh, pardon me, Miss Iori, I hear you are semi grade one, would you consider transferring to the Rome branch once this mission is over with?  We are in need for fine sorcerers such as yourself. Perhaps we can even promote you to grade one as well! We are not so… mh? Stuffy. I am sure you qualify for the best.”

Her eyes widened, “Huh? Really?”

“Of course! I can even fund your stay. No need to worry for expenses,” he said. 

“She's not interested,” Gojo blurted out without thinking. 

“Oh I'm sure this will take some time to think over,” Blondie waved him off and gave Utahime's hand another pat. “You think and let me know.”

She blushed and nodded, “Okay… I'll think about it.”

Gojo held his tongue and crossed his arms. He didn't like the idea of Utahime moving to a whole other country. 

Her move to Kyoto was already far enough. He glanced around the table and grimaced when it didn't seem like anyone else had a problem with it. 

“You know, it might be good for you to get some outside experience,” Kusakabe said.  “It's not necessary, but it does look quite good to have successful international missions on your record.”

Gojo glared at him. The last thing he wanted was these jackoffs encouraging her to leave Japan all together! 

“Oh… you really think so?” 

“Yes, yes, it looks very good. It means you are valuable to even other countries. It makes your bosses look good as well,” Blondie said.

“What do you think, Nanami?” Utahime asked.

“Objectively, he is correct,” Nanami — the traitor— said. 

Gojo shot him a glare too, but he didn't even react. Bastard. “Come on,  Utahime, the standards of these other branches are much lower. Their grade ones are more or else equivalent to our grade twos. You'll essentially be downgrading yourself if you get promoted overseas.”

“That's not true,” Kusakabe butt in. “Overseas sorcerers are just as talented as ours. Gojo just has a skewed opinion because of course he does.”

Gojo elbowed his side. Kusakabe let out a grunt of pain, but annoyingly didn't spare him a glance. 

“You should really consider it. Don't let him discourage you,” Kusakabe added as he rubbed his ribs.

Gojo stared at Shoko, shocked that she hadn't said anything yet. 

She held her hands up, “I'm not a field sorcerer, so I've got nothing to say… whatever Senpai wants to do, I'm sure we'll all support her, right?”

“Whatever,” he grumbled and checked the time on his phone. It was ten. Not as late as they'd stayed out in the past, but it was late enough. He wasn't in the mood to stomach any more of this. “I'm closing the tab, it's late, and I've got to get on a plane in the morning,” he said as he stood up.

Yeah, he could teleport if he needed to, but he kind of wanted to take a nap on the plane ride… 

“Aw, you're paying for all of us?” Shoko asked with a sly smile. 

Gojo glared at her, who's side was she on anyway? “No, I'm only—”

“Oh? Not enough funds? Don't worry, don't worry, I pay,” Blondie said and stood up, and Shoko smirked and moved so he could leave the booth. 

Blondie reached over and gave Gojo a pat on the back, but Gojo stopped his hand halfway before reaching him. 

He didn't even want to feel the air shift between them. 

That didn't seem to phase him, and Blondie continued walking like nothing happened. Gojo saw himself tripping him, but right before he even tried Utahime stood up. 

“Gojo, you can't let him pay for us! He's our guest!” She said as she scooted past Shoko. 

“If he wants to waste his money, let him. Free food and drinks for all of us right?” Gojo said, even though he couldn't shake the annoyance. 

“That is poor hospitality!” She argued. 

“Huh? That's funny, last I recall, you said he invited himself,” he grumbled. 

“I— But we still need to be good hosts!” 

“Yeah but this isn't any of our houses so what does it matter? We aren't even on campus!”

“I want him to have the best impression of Tokyo as possible!”

“Why? You don't even go here, Utahime. Do all that hospitality nonsense in Kyoto.”

She huffed and put her hands on her hips, “It's just as important for Tokyo!”

“Is not.”

“It is too!”

Kusakabe sighed, “Here we go. I guess it really was too good to be true.”

Gojo ignored him, “And what are you going to do about it?” 

“I was going to pick up the bill myself.”

He laughed. “No you won't!”

She scowled, “Why not? You don't control my finances!”

“You don't have the extra cash to spend, Utahime.”

“Tch, that's none of your concern!”

“He's already on his way back, so why are you even arguing about this??” Gojo asked, annoyed. 

She gasped and rushed around him, tried to but he shot his arm out to block her. She shoved his arm away. 

“Gojo, you idiot! Didn't I ask you not to embarrass me?”

“I'm not doing anything.”

Blondie walked up beside her and cleared his throat. “Is everything alright, Miss Iori?”

Utahime gasped quietly and bowed in apology, “I'm sorry,  Galanis-San, I was just, um… We were having a…  friendly conversation.” 

He smiled and shook his head, “No need to apologize. I understand. I have older sister at home. I know how it is.”

Gojo tensed. Outwardly he didn't even flinch,  as he didn't want to give this bastard the satisfaction, but internally, he was seething. And much to his chagrin, Utahime actually agreed. 

“Haha! Yeah… um, I uh, suppose that's a good way to put it,” she said, even though she made a face. "Kinda..."

“Ouch,” Shoko said, just behind them.

The words were leaving Gojo's mouth before his brain could filter them.  “Don't be confused, Blondie, if Utahime was from my clan she would have been a grade one years ago.”

Shoko once again, provided useless background commentary. “Yikes…” 

Annoyed, Gojo finally turned to her,  “What??”

Shoko just loudly sipped at the ice cubes in her glass and pointed to Utahime. Frowning,  Gojo turned to her to find her frowning at him with the faintest look of hurt in her eyes. 

He didn't get it. “What? It's true.” All the active Sorcerers in the Gojo clan were grade one. It was only off branch families that had any lower grades. 

She scowled and turned to Shoko, “Let's go,  Sho. I'm tired.” 

“Yeah, this place is starting to smell too much of ego,” Shoko said and moved over to hook her arm around Utahime's. 

Gojo bit his cheek to keep his reaction to himself and turned to Ijichi. “Oi, take the girls home, yeah? Do you want them catching a cab at this time?”

“Of course, of course,” Ijichi said and quickly scrambled past Nanami and Kusakabe. “Wait, Iori-Senpai, Ieiri-Senpai, I'll take you home,” he called out as he rushed after them.”

Blondie went to follow him, but Gojo stepped in front of him to block him. “You know—”

“We should get going too!” Kusakabe interjected and stood up. “Come on,  Galanis, Nanami and I will take you back to the campus, right?”

Nanami sighed and looked at his watch. “I'll be counting that as over time,” he said and stood up. 

Gojo glared at Kusakabe, “You know, there's a reason why you never get invited, Atsuya”

Kusakabe rolled his eyes and ushered Blondie along who wisely went without fuss followed by Nanami. 

Gojo sighed heavily and shuffled over to the bar.

So much for having a fun night with friends. Friends that he was starting to think were enemies in disguise… 

He was agitated, and pissed off. 

A woman in a low cut blouse caught his eye at the end of the bar. She was talking to some nobody, but he could tell she wasn't interested. She was a civilian, but even with the minute cursed energy she had, Gojo could tell she was irritated. The six eyes could pick up even the tiniest shifts. 

He absently fussed with the edge of his blindfold.  It would be easy to get her attention once he pulled it down. Maybe if he got his dick sucked this weirdness he was feeling would go away. 

He thought it over for a few beats, and right as he pulled the blindfold down, his phone pinged. 

Sighing, Gojo pulled it out of his pocket, intending to silence it when he saw the text on the screen. 

Utahime: Did you know you hurt my feelings, Gojo?

He grimaced and typed out no, only to delete it and try again. I didn't know you were such a cry baby. 

He deleted it. 

What was up with her?  She never would have admitted to something like that before today. What the hell was going on?

Distantly, he sensed the woman he'd been looking at slide onto the stool beside him, but he didn't look up. 

Did Utahime drink more than he thought she did? Or was she cursed? 

He typed out another response: I didn't do anything.

This time, his thumb hovered over the send button for a good two seconds before he deleted that too.

Did Blondie do something to her? This all started during the meeting today… 

There was a faint knock against infinity.

Utahime: With how many times the dots popped up and disappeared, you're making me think that you're the one writing a dissertation.  

A slow smile spread on his face, and he finally sent in: 

Me: I might be. 

Utahime: I figured. It better be an apology. 

Me:  I don't know about that. I wasn't trying to upset you. 

Utahime: But you did.

His smile fell away and he ran his hand through his hair. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt so concerned about what to say next. What more did she want? Why should he apologize for something that he wasn't even trying to do? 

He tried a few more responses that he ended up deleting before sighing and sending in: 

Me: I don't know what to say to that. 

Utahime:  Really? 

Me:  yeah. 

Utahime: Just say that you're sorry, Gojo. Why is that so hard? 

He typed out: I'm sorry you got upset,  but quickly deleted it. He said that to her face once, and that made her so mad that she canceled plans to come to Tokyo to visit everyone. 

There was another knock on his infinity. 

Utahime: Imagining you struggling over something so simple is actually kind of funny. 

Me:  I'm not struggling. 

Utahime:  You are.

Me: Am not. 

Utahime: Then apologize, Gojo. Isn't that what friends do?

His eyes widened as he read over the last sentence. Friends… he wasn't sure why he was so surprised. Maybe because he had resigned himself to believing she didn't consider him one? 

Me:  You're drunk

Utahime: No. I'm not sure if I'm even tipsy still. 

His heart was racing, but he didn't understand why. 

Me: sorry… 

Utahime: (･ᴗ･ )

Gojo grinned and bit his lip. Utahime never sent him emojis... 

His face was hurting from his smile.